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Way Back Machine

Stories about the way things were on the Delmarva Peninsula–the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and Delaware.

John H Muiholland Featured Photo
CharactersFrom the BooksWay Back Machine

This Milford, Del. Man Helped Ice Cream Parlors Take Off in the 1920s

This is a free excerpt from my book, You Wouldn't Believe! 44 Strange & Wondrous Delmarva Tales. That's right, the book has 43 other stories like this one. Info on the book here. The only folks who screamed for ice cream when that delicacy first came on the market were the filthy rich. The history of the ice cream parlors we know today dates back…
March 1, 2023
CharactersWay Back Machine

William Major Parker: The Pioneering Black Keeper at Killick Shoal Lighthouse

Stories from the golden age of lighthouses in the 1800s tend to be white-men-only affairs for sad and obvious reasons—slavery, discrimination, and prejudice. But tantalizing exceptions to this rule are out there, including the remarkable story of William Major Parker and his career as a keeper on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. We’ll meet him in a moment. First, a smidgeon of scene-setting. The work…
February 25, 2023
Storm of 1939 Featured Photo
Way Back Machine

The 10-Minute Storm that Turned into the ‘Worst Tragedy in Skipjack History,’ 1939

Nothing in the forecast for Feb. 3, 1939 hinted at trouble. The Baltimore Sun promised a ho-hum winter day: “Rain today, and probably tomorrow. Colder tonight.” Oystermen in the Chesapeake Bay didn’t see any red flags during their workday. A pair of then-young watermen, Art Daniels and Jimmy Murphy, were aboard the Robert L. Tawes out of Deal Island, Md. Years later, they remembered toiling…
February 25, 2023
Chocolate Candy Murders Featured Photo
From the BooksWay Back Machine

Flirtation to Fury: The Chocolate Candy Murders

This is a free excerpt from my book, You Wouldn't Believe! 44 Strange and Wondrous Delmarva Tales. More info about that and my other books exploring the history, travel, and culture on the Eastern Shore and in Delaware here. If Shakespeare had written tragedies in early 1900s America instead of early 1600s Britain, he would have had another character named Cordelia to write about. The plot…
January 27, 2023
MiscellanyWay Back Machine

Launch Days in Bethel

This is a free excerpt from my book, Eastern Shore Road Trips #2: 26 MORE One-Day Adventures on Delmarva. In a trip focused on visiting the Southern Delaware towns of Laurel and Bethel I write a bit about how Bethel was a famous shipbuilding center focused on building the gargantuan ships known as "Rams." This fun little anecdote appears as an afternote at the end…
November 20, 2022
Way Back Machine

Shootout on Fenwick Island, 1932!

Have you ever seen a movie that started out in spectacular fashion only to falter and end up a bore of a letdown? That’s how I felt after digging around in search of the story behind this headline above a 1932 newspaper story: “$30,000 in Rum Seized After Gun Battle.” The shootout was set on Fenwick Island, Del. The backdrop had the ingredients of an…
October 15, 2022
From the BooksWay Back Machine

The Spookiest of Swamps: Pocomoke River State Park in Days Gone By

This is a free excerpt from my book, Eastern Shore Road Trips #2: 26 MORE One-Day Adventures on Delmarva. The chapter involved has lots more on the road-tripping agenda, including visits to the town of Snow Hill and the Furnace Town Historic Site. More info about this and my other books exploring the history, travel, and culture on the Eastern Shore and in Delaware here.…
September 21, 2022
Way Back Machine

Jake the Alligator: Berlin Gets a Toothy, Six-Foot-Four Mascot, circa 1900

This is a free excerpt from my book, You Wouldn't Believe! 44 Strange and Wondrous Delmarva Tales. More info about that and my other books exploring the history, travel, and culture on the Eastern Shore and in Delaware here. Paging through a book of photos from times gone by in Worcester County, Md., I came across a crazy postcard. The legend sketched out in a brief caption…
August 28, 2022
Robbins Davis Dawgs Featured Image Georgia Cambridge
CharactersWay Back Machine

How Bout Them Dawgs? The Crazy Connection Between Georgia Football and Cambridge, Md.

The 2022 college football season begins in earnest in the month I'm writing this, and the defending champion Georgia Bulldogs are once again ranked among the nation's top teams. I can sense the question forming in your mind: What in the world does this have to do with the Delmarva Peninsula? Executive summary: • Georgia's official nickname is "Bulldogs." • The team's rabid fan base…
August 27, 2022